FreeBSD Manual Pages

whois(1) User Commands whois(1)
NAME
whois - Internet user name directory service
SYNOPSISwhois [-hhost] identifierDESCRIPTIONwhois searches for an Internet directory entry for an identifier which
is either a name (such as ``Smith'') or a handle (such as ``SRI-NIC'').
To force a name-only search, precede the name with a period; to force a
handle-only search, precede the handle with an exclamation point.
To search for a group or organization entry, precede the argument with
* (an asterisk). The entire membership list of the group will be dis-
played with the record.
You may of course use an exclamation point and asterisk, or a period
and asterisk together.
EXAMPLESExample1:UsingThewhois Command
The command:
example% whois Smith
looks for the name or handle SMITH.
The command:
example% whois !SRI-NIC
looks for the handle SRI-NIC only.
The command:
example% whois .Smith, John
looks for the name JOHNSMITH only.
Adding ... to the name or handle argument will match anything from that
point; that is, ZU... will match ZUL, ZUM, and so on.
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
|Availability |SUNWrcmdc |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
SEE ALSOattributes(5)
SunOS 5.10 6 Nov 2000 whois(1)